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Berardinetti (Ward 35 Scarborough Southwest) said the matter was urgent because the Toronto Zoo is negotiating to send the aging pachyderms to a U.S. zoo similarly accredited with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

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The zoo’s council-appointed board, six councillors and eight citizen appointees, voted earlier this year to close the popular elephant exhibit and seek a suitable AZA-accredited facility for Toka, Thika and Iringa. Failing that, the zoo would look at non-accredited sanctuaries.

Berardinetti said there was a risk the beasts would be sent to a zoo with a cold climate similar to Toronto’s. Also, while the zoo board voted to disqualify facilities that uses bull hooks, Berardinetti said there’s nothing to stop the facility that gets the trio from later transferring them to a facility that does use the steel or brass prods on elephants.

“We need them to send them to the PAWS sanctuary, that’s what we need to do, at this time, on this council, today,” Berardinetti said, referring to the facility in Galt, Calif.

PAWS isn’t an AZA member because it isn’t run like a zoo, but rather as a massive retirement home for old and ailing beasts. Also, it has no breeding program, as AZA facilities are required to have.

Councillor Paul Ainslie, vice-chair of the zoo board, opposed Berardinetti’s motion and branded the attempt to hijack control of the elephants as “inappropriate” and “fear-mongering.”

Accredited zoos need to meet high standards, are inspected and provide the best care possible for aging elephants, he said.

Ainslie said older elephants are prone to falling down and the weight of their bodies can cause a fatal heart attack. They could topple on a sprawling sanctuary and not get righted immediately, as would happen at a zoo, he said.

“If you send them to a zoo or somewhere with accreditation, I know they’re going to be properly cared for and looked after and not left to die in the middle of nowhere,” said Ainslie (Ward 43 Scarborough East).

Berardinetti said she has information the zoo brass are afraid sending the elephants to a non-AZA accredited facility will place its own accreditation at risk.

Steve Feldman, a spokesman for the AZA, said the association believes animals should be in accredited facilities “but in general one decision usually does not impact accreditation.”

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